Recommendations for bariatric and metabolic surgical operations during the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey

On Behalf of the Initiative of the Board of Directors of the Turkish Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery

1Department of General Surgery, Baskent University Zubeyde Hanim Practice and Research Center, Izmir, Turkey2Department of General Surgery, Istinye University School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey3Department of General Surgery, Samsun Liv Hospital, Samsun, Turkey4Department of General Surgery, Istinye University School of Medicine, Istanbul/Liv Hospital Ankara, Ankara, Turkey

Abstract

The world has been struggling with the COVID-19 virus since December 2019. Turkey has also been battling with the virus since March 2019. While struggling with this unknown virus, we have postponed our new bariatric surgeries like most elective surgery. However, curfew and quarantine period (increase in food intake and decreased physical activity) increases risks for morbidity and mortality because of obesity and diabetes. When the pandemic decreases and disappears, many obesity patients will seek treatment for obesity and the workload of surgeons will increase. Before bariatric and metabolic surgery operations, which is the most effective treatment of obesity and related comorbidities, necessary precautions must be determined and implemented to protect patients and healthcare workers before and during surgery. In this review, it was aimed to determine the pre-peri and postoperative periods of bariatric surgical requirements. This review has been written on behalf of the Turkish Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery as an initiative in order to answer some questions about bariatric and metabolic surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic.